Echoes of the Past
by LoudAutomata16
Summary: As Lynn struggles with an assignment, she finds an unlikely helping hand in Clyde. And as they venture together in the museum, an oddly resonant story is to be told...


**This story was written as a Secret Santa Christmas present to an amazing friend of mine, Weavillain. I would've uploaded it then, but my computer was messed up and I was travelling, so I decided to save it for Clynn week. Seemed fitting.**

 **So yeah, dedicated to Weav, as well as my other Clynn shipping friends NicktheIrkenThatDrawsJordcolnForMe and Petrus (Happy Birthday, btw).** **Enjoy your OTP week, you guys :D**

* * *

Lynn lightly tapped her finger against her freckled cheek as she stared out of Vanzilla's window absentmindedly. She scowled a little, annoyed that a day that was perfect for some football or biking would be squandered at the… at the…

Lynn shivered before she allowed the word to manifest in her thoughts. _Museum._

"Are we there yet?" Lynn turned away from the window and towards her oldest sister Lori, who rolled her eyes before answering "No, Lynn, we're literally not even close. So can you stop acting like Lana and let me drive?"

"Sorry. Guess I'm just a little annoyed that I'm spending all day looking at statues or whatever."

"Should've done better on that history exam, then," Lori barley hid her smirk, and that inflamed Lynn to an extent.

"Don't blame me. Blame Stinkoln and Ms. Smarty Pants, they were supposed to teach me about, uh… how George Washington led a revolution against the pharaoh?" Lynn hazarded a guess. Lori stared with blank eyes, marveling the sheer wrongness that she had just heard, before sighing and returning her gaze to the road ahead of her.

"Believe me, Lynn… You _really_ need this. You're literally beyond lucky that your teacher gave you this bonus essay to help you pass. I once failed a biology exam, and I didn't get a chance to make-up."

"Wait, you failed a bio test?"

"I didn't study the night before. I was distracted by Boo Boo Bear trying to impress me with his delivery job," Lori sighed, her pupils turning into hearts. She clutched her breast with another romantic sigh, and only snapped out of it when the car behind them honked viciously before passing. "Well, excuse you," Lori scowled.

"I'm still a little worried, though… how am I supposed to know where I'm supposed to go? And what if I study the wrong things? Write down the wrong notes? Go to the wrong exhibits?"

Lynn tried to know to show it, but Lori, trained by years of being an older sister to her, could detect a little dip in the confidence in her voice. The usual bravado and swagger of LJ was of no use to her, now that she was out of her element. Lynn even seemed to stick out her bottom lip and widen her eyes, as if she were unconsciously appealing to someone. Lori sighed, but smiled lightly when she saw an upcoming gas station.

"Hey, Lynn… I need to fuel up a little," she lied, hoping Lynn wouldn't glance over at the meter. "Did you get a good breakfast?"

"Two plates of scrambled eggs, couple pieces of bacon, and a cup or two of coffee," Lynn listed with a shrug. "I know, I know. Small meal…"

"How about I give you some money and you can get something for… the rest of your breakfast?"

Lynn beamed, never the kind of girl to turn down food. So when Lori pulled up to 'refuel,' she waited until Lynn had disappeared behind the automatic door of the snack mart, before pulling out her phone and dialing her little brother's number.

"H-Hey, Lori, do you need som-"

"Lincoln, I need you to take Lynn on a tour of the museum. She's got an essay and I think she's literally lost."

"I would, but I'm a little busy today. I promised Luan I'd help her with a birthday party."

Lori pinched the bridge of her nose with annoyance. "Well, I can't help her around. I have at least three sisters I need to drive around today."

"Well, I got an idea," Lincoln suddenly chirped. "Clyde's dads always take him to places like that, so he'll be proper and cultured. Maybe I could talk to him on our walkies and…"

Lincoln was interrupted by a sharp hiss on the other side, and he gave a small chuckle. "I'll tell him to wait inside."

"Thanks, Lincoln. You literally have no idea how much this helps me. And, more importantly, helps Lynn."

"I do actually. Cleaning up after you guys is basically my talent at this point."

"Twerp," Lori teased with a half-smile, before ending the call with her brother. Lynn bounded back into the car, a protein bar in hand, and she noisily chomped on it, debris of chocolate dust and nuts falling to the ground and all over the seat.

 _Lola's not going to like that,_ Lori thought, before putting the car in reverse and driving back onto the main road. And maybe it was just the energy from the protein snack Lynn was chomping, but she seemed to be feeling better about the whole thing already…

* * *

As soon as Lynn exited the vehicle and waved a small farewell to Lori, she truly got a chance to marvel at the exterior of the building. It was largely of cubical shape, with a white pristine coating on every wall, and a slanting design on one side, ordained with shimmering glass panels, polished a reflective shade of silver.

"That's a damn good building," Lynn said bluntly. She swallowed heavily for a moment, clutching her books tighter. "Come on, LJ. If you don't give it your 100%, you'll end up in summer school. And they don't have a soccer curriculum."

Her mind was set. Her eyes were set dead forward as she marched into the large building…

And immediately crashed into the ground as she bumped into someone.

"HEY! Watch where you're… Clyde?"

Lynn's voice immediately softened as she stared at the young eleven year old, rubbing his elbow with a pained expression on his face. Still, he managed a polite and friendly smile. "Hey Lynn, fancy meeting you- ow…"

"Sorry, Clyde. You alright?"

"It was my fault, I should've watched where I was going. But that doesn't really help my elbow," he rolled up his striped sleeve to reveal a bright burn where he had landed. Lynn had seen injuries like this before (hell, she _caused_ injuries like that before, she thought with a slight grin) so fortunately for Clyde, she knew what to do.

"Well, you're injury doesn't look too serious. Still," she clasped the young man's arm in her grip, wrapping her slightly calloused fingers around his smooth skin. She then elevated it a few inches, right next to Clyde's earlobe. "Just in case, keep your arm above chest level. And we should probably ice this thing."

"My dads packed me a cold pack. Right here," he said with pride as he unzipped his hefty backpack and pulled out said cold pack. He pressed it to his shoulder, and a hazy look of calm burst onto his face. "Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah, sweet relief."

He then returned his attention to the auburn haired girl. "So, Lynn, what brings you here?" he asked. Lincoln had told him to pretend like he didn't know, and he swore not to let his buddy down.

"Just a dumb project to make sure I don't fail history," Lynn huffed. "A dumb project I wouldn't have to do if it weren't for the worse half of Stincloud McBroud…"

"Clincoln Mcloud," Clyde offered with a helpful smile, as Lynn helped him off the ground and dusted him off. "What are you looking for exactly? What are you researching?"

"I… don't really know," Lynn said, scratching her chin. "The teach said I could do a paper on whatever or whoever I wanted but… I don't know what to do really."

"I can help," Clyde offered, doing his best to make it seem like an impromptu decision.

"Really?" Lynn asked, and when he nodded his head, a warm smile curved onto her lips. She wouldn't admit it to most, but she had taken a bit of a liking to Clyde. She respected his surprising potential (and his ability to annoy Lori heh heh), but she really took a shine to him when she found he was more receptive to playing with her than even her brother was sometimes. It was small things, like a game of hacky sack here, and a few tosses of the Frisbee there, but it meant a lot to her that someone outside her family and team was willing to indulge her love of all things sport.

And now that he was willing to guide her around this marble labyrinth of artifacts… Lynn would make it up to him one day. Maybe she'd show him around her middle school…

"Alright, McBride, show me something interesting," she smirked as she wrapped her arm around Clyde's shoulder and accidentally put him in a chokehold. "Show me where all the magic happens. I mean that as a metaphor, but if there is some real magic, show me that too. I'll snag a pic for Luce…"

* * *

If there was one thing that was obvious about Lynn Loud Jr, it was her affinity for sports. Any random passerby rolling by on a pickup truck that just caught glance of her red shorts, numbered jersey, tomboyish ponytail, and whatever hefty sports equipment she was lugging around would automatically think to themselves _Did I see that girl in some 90's sports flick?_ Of course, those closer to her knew that the girl had dreams of making it to one of the greatest athletic events in recorded history; the Olympics. Therefore, Clyde felt it best to bring the sporty girl to the vast section of the museum dedicated to Ancient Greece.

"So this is where the Olympics started, huh?" Lynn muttered as she stared at large artworks depicting valiant men from the ancient world jogging past one another, tossing weighty discuses and even engaged in combat. Lynn smirked at the depictions. "No way that would be allowed in modern Olympics…"

"Oh, I remember this one," Clyde exclaimed as he wandered over to the brunette. "It's supposed to depict Heracles as he starts the Olympics for his dad. Those were the first wrestling events in human history, according to the myth."

"For his dad, huh?" Lynn repeated, tapping her notepad with her slender pencil. "I get that. Wanting to impress people with your strength. It's something I do _all_ the time," she shrugged with a wide grin, before her eyes were drawn to other such paintings, scattered along the wall. "So, do the rest of these have to do with the Olympics?"

Clyde's eyes wandered alongside hers, before he lightly shook his head. "These are for other myths. That one is Theseus killing the minotaur… the one next to it is Icarus and Daedalus flying in the sky… the one next to that is…"

"You _really_ know this stuff," Lynn interrupted, her voice a mix of impressed and concerned.

"I mostly spend time in the Chinese and Egyptian parts. My dads want me to have a 'gloabal perspective,'" Clyde responded with pride, before he and Lynn strolled down the aisle. Clyde was happy to explain all the interesting things he had learned about Hellenistic folklore. Lynn was a little less enthusiastic, but the young man's glowing joy about the subject made her smile, and she entertained him as he explained stories of heroes, gods, giants and monsters. Pretty soon, she found herself a little inclined towards the topic, based solely on the magnetic draw Clyde was exerting.

Soon he stopped, though, in front of a certain mural. Lynn watched as he heaved a sigh, and tried to pass by it, which only served to increase her interest. "Hey, Clyde, what's this one about?"

It was a well preserved portrait of two people; a man and a woman, seemingly in their late teens or early adulthood (bit hard to tell with these old paintings). The exact shading and colors were faded, but Lynn could detect hints of brown from the woman's hair, and a darker shade on the man's skin. They seemed to be holding each other's hands, his fingers cupped in her palm, but his head was directed away from her.

"It's… it's a sad story," Clyde said, his young face suddenly wistful. "To me, at least. For some reason, it always makes me sad to think about."

"Jeez, sorry Clyde. Forget I ask-"

"It's fine. You know, it's actually a pretty good story, if you're interested."

"Well, I can tell it means a lot to you… ah, what the heck?" she half-lied. Don't tell anyone this, or she'll hunt you down, but Lynn had, in her weaker moments, snuck away romance novels from Lucy and Lori's libraries. It didn't take long before she got bored and put the book down to play some rugby with Lincoln, but they did appeal an inner romantic in her.

A very, very, veeeeeeeeeeeeeerrrrrrrrrrrrrrrryyyyyyyy secret romantic.

"Well then, this is the story of Claudius and Lynora…"

* * *

Her fingers raked through his hair as the two kissed passionately. He opened his eyes, staring down and counting the many pale freckles that ordained her face, like so many fireflies over a shimmering lakeside. The two broke their kiss, though their hearts hungered for more.

"You've gotten a lot better than when we first started dating, ' _Clyde,'"_ she teased, rolling the nickname on her tongue.

"Only you get to call me that," he responded with an amused grunt. "I feel like I should give you a pet name in return."

She rolled her eyes, scowling at the very idea. "What, something like 'Lynn?'"

"Lynn… that's not that bad, actually," Clyde said as he rubbed his stubble. The young man then turned away from her, dusting off his silky robes, and sighed loudly. How many moons would it be before he got to kiss her again?

"What's wrong?" Lynn asked, stroking his shoulder's gently as she hovered near his face. Clyde could sense her soft breaths tickling the short hairs across his neck and face, and that helped relax his beating heart.

"Lynn, I… I'm worried about the trip ahead of me. It's a long way to my hometown and back. And the way itself is dangerous, filled with bandits and animals and monsters…"

Lynn huffed. "There's no such thing as monsters. Aren't you meant to be the scholarly one here?"

"Yes, and I'm sure every scholar that met with the jaws of a chimera believed there was no such thing. And even if thieves can be avoided, the weather is unpredictable and…"

"Clyde," Lynn said gently, cutting the worried babble of her soul mate. "I don't want you to do anything you don't want to. But you said that going to get your inheritance would help our situation. And it would be useful to have the extra money in case I… you know…"

Her cheeks burned as she patted her belly. For now it was flat, but both she and Clyde hoped that one day a young Clynn would nestle in her womb. But times were dangerous, especially with turbulence of rebellious city states and the foreign threats of the East always looming over their heads, so the couple decided to avoid having children for now. Still, Clyde's confidence was now rekindled. He would retrieve what was rightfully his, gods willing.

"I love you, Lynn," he brought his forehead to her's, brushing their lips and making the young woman's cheeks glow crimson. But she smiled gently and enjoyed the delicate warmth of his touch, and whispered back "I love you, too."

And with that, he began to prepare for his trip. In the meantime, his best friend would drop by from time to time, assisting Clyde with his bags and materials, and comforting Lynn, who happened to be his older sister. The true name of this youth is lost to time, but what is known is that most referred to him as 'Linc.'

"Bring him home safe, Linc," Lynn implored her brother, and the young man scratched his ashen hair. Linc wasn't the bravest warrior around, and was more prone to admiring stories about heroes than anything, but the loving shine in his sister's eyes forged a fire in his chest.

"I… I promise," his voice wavered, but Lynn didn't hear the small break. Rather, a relieved smile emerged onto her face. _It'll be alright…_

Then the day of reckoning finally came. As Linc brought the horses closer to their home, Clyde clutched Lynn's hands one last time. He stared deeply into her eyes, widened with summery red and amber. His heart ached at the idea of being away from her, but it had to be.

"Lynn, I-" Clyde was immediately shushed as Lynn placed a slender finger on his lips, beaming gently as she whispered "Don't say anything other than 'I love you, and I'll be back soon.'"

"I love you and I'll be back soon," he grinned, just as Linc finally pulled up the two steeds.

"Sorry about the wait, buddy," Linc said, waving his arm as he tried to shoo away a few flies. "The horses were a bit spooked by an owl walking around on the road."

"An owl? In daylight?"

"Yeah, strangest thing. Poor guy must've been confused," Linc said with a shrug, patting one of the mares lightly. "So, all set?"

"Yep. Let's ride, Linc," Clyde said, excitement and thrill throwing all his caution to the wind as he got onto his horse and heard it's high-pitched neighing. He threw one last look back at the coffee haired woman, who simply smiled and watched as her lover and her younger sibling both rode off into the distance…

For the longest time, no news of the two reached Lynn, but she expected that. She spent her days waiting, but she refused to be inactive. She was prone to playing games and enjoying light sport with her younger family members, especially her two particularly rambunctious twin sisters. The waking world was kind to her, but the dreaming was not. In her dreams, she was reunited with Clyde, and every morning she would awaken to discover that it had been just that; a dream. It was as though Morpheus himself was playing a cruel prank on her, and she did not appreciate another cruel prankster in her life.

Worry only began to settle in her breast as winter came around. Flakes of snow fell from the sky, and with a light smile, Lynn's thoughts turned to Clyde. He always loved the winter, and he looked so… dorky as a kid, when the others pushed him to play. Lynn smirked at the memory; she was one of the few who would play with him, and luckily he was one of the few boys kind enough to play with her.

Her smirk would later curl into a worried frown as more and more time went by. She felt like that woman from the story she caught a vague snippet from a travelling story teller. What was her name; Penelope? Penelope, pining for Odysseus to return, unaware if he was alive or dead.

Dead. The idea that Clyde was dead haunted Lynn's nightmares.

"Where are you, Clyde?" she breathed softly, staring into the night sky after being awaken by one such nightmare. The thought that they were both under the same sky brought her comfort, but like everything else, it was waning…

Then one day, a miracle. Lynn looked off into the distance, purely by happenstance, and saw two large horses trotting towards her home, carrying with them a small wagon, and a rider on one of the stallions. The young Greek woman beamed as she saw that flash of white hair. _Could it be… is that…_

After a few moments, the small caravan reached the gates, and Linc looked up at his sister, bearing a somber smile. The bags underneath his eyes had darkened, bringing them with a weary look, but that didn't stop Lynn from playfully punching the younger man on his arm. "Agh, Lynn," he grumbled as he rubbed his sore arm, and the young woman laughed loudly, before scooping him up in the tightest bear hug he had ever been in.

"Lynn… please… I want Ronilda… to see me standing upright…" he choked, and the brunette sheepishly let him go.

"Good to see you, Linc. Now, where's Clyde? Is he hiding behind those curtains?" she asked, pointing towards the horse drawn carriage, ordained with fine materials. She expected him to jump out and yell 'Surprise!' or something along those lines, but there was nary a stirring. She looked back to her brother, who gave her a sad look.

"Lynn… can we talk inside?"

* * *

It took hours for Lynn to stop crying.

Her throat was raw and choked, her eyes were red and there was a whitish trail of tears that cut the bright crimson of her face. At the end of her sobbing, she felt numb and cold inside. She hadn't felt so… alone in a long time.

"L-Lynn… are you…"

"Leave me alone, Linc."

Linc sighed, heartbreak evident in his tone. It had been one of the most tiring and gloomy times of his life, and his sister's sadness was only the tip of the crushing iceberg. But he left her be; what right did he have to interrupt her mourning?

With shaking fingers, Lynn rolled a small vial in her hand. It was what Linc had come back with. There was no gold or silver to be had in Clyde's inheritance; only this small flask of violet liquid.

 _This is all you'll ever have from him again. Was it worth it?_

Bitter anger rushed through her body, and she grit her teeth as she prepared to throw it to the ground, but her usual exceptional energy betrayed her. She slumped back to the ground, and instead continued to massage it around her palm and fingers.

"Linc," she called softly, and the young man returned to her.

"Yes, Lynn?"

"What even is this?" she questioned, and Lincoln shook his head slowly. "I have no idea. But when we received it, we were told… never mind, it's a silly story…"

"Tell me."

"We were told that it's a potion for reincarnation. An alchemist's brew to ensure his soul could avoid Hades and return to the Earth directly. I remember that he and his wife drank it together, for they believed that one day, they would be reincarnated together."

"Is that so?" Lynn wondered out loud.

"Yeah. I don't think Clyde believed it, though. He took a little sip of it when we were running low on water. Before he…" Linc swallowed loudly, before turning to take his leave. Lynn almost called for him to stay, but her attention was more focused on the container in her hand.

She paused for a moment, looking up at the large, silvery moon in the sky. It rained down light into her empty bedroom, and reflected off the glass that made up the container. Lynn dwelled on what her brother said.

 _Reincarnation._

Lynn knew it was a long shot. She knew it was likely not going to work.

Then again, she always was the superstitious type.

She drank the rest of the vial, wiping a little residue from her velvety lips when she finished. She gave a brief flicker of a smile as she did. A warm hearth was alit in her breast, as if Hestia herself had taken residence in the catacombs of her heart.

For a moment… just a soft moment… she felt that Clyde was with her…

* * *

"After that, Lynora never married or looked at another man. She died alone, her only wish was to be with Claudius. If not then, than in another life," Clyde concluded, with the gravity and tone of someone much older than they seemed. Even Lynn, usually one to retort to such a tale with a snarky one-liner, found herself silent and awed by what she had just heard. There was an odd beating in her chest, that she calmed with a gentle pressing of her palm.

"I, uh, I think I found my essay subject," she said, trying not to choke, even supplementing it with an odd giggle. The myth seemed to resonate with her, more than most stories did. And for some reason, she felt an immense urge to let Clyde know how much she valued him.

She clapped a hand on his shoulder, beaming weakly and with a slight blush. "Thanks, Clyde. You're really one of a kind..."

* * *

The next time Clyde would see Lynn was at Ketcham Park, where Lynn greeted him with an immodest smile and a paper slammed in his face. "Lynnsanity comes up as Number 1 again," she boasted. "Solid A-"

"Is A- really Number One?" he asked, clutching his nose in hopes it wouldn't bleed, but with an unamused glare from the chestnut haired girl, he quickly changed his tune to "Congratulations, Lynn."

"Thanks. Got a few points docked for some historic inaccuracies or something like that, but… overall, the teach liked what I had," Lynn smile grew a little softer. "It helps that I cared about the subject matter. For some reason… it meant a lot to me, working on this."

She took a somber sigh, and gazed up at the sky. "Do you think they ever found each other?"

Clyde shrugged, but also gave a smile that Lynn found absolutely adorable. "I like to think they did. True love can overcome anything, as my parents always say."

"Mine say the same as well," Lynn whispered huskily, leaning in to press her sensual lips to Clyde's face. It was a quick peck, fitting the athletic girl's speed, but it made both of their hearts flutter. Clyde felt an immense burning on his face as Lynn slowly peeled herself away, giving him a sly and seductive wink as she continued on her stroll. Clyde was paralyzed for a few moments, his eyes wide and expression blank, while his face was heated by new feelings. Slowly, he began walking out of the park and towards his home.

Perhaps walking wasn't the right term. He was floating on a cloud of love for Lynn Loud Jr.


End file.
